Press-Start’s Most Anticipated Games Of 2014

2013 was a huge year in gaming which saw the release of two next-gen consoles. The launch titles for these consoles were widely considered to be underwhelming. This is where 2014 is expected to deliver. There are a ton of great games already coming out in the first quarter of 2014 with a bunch of titles expected to be announced over the coming months. Our team got together to discuss our most anticipated games of 2014.

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Battle Royale – I was gonna put Watch Dogs at first, but my hype for that game has died down a little bit. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still one of the games I’m looking forward to the most this year, but Jojo’s is something else. The Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Manga is old as hell, and a few months ago I watched the anime that aired this year, which was absolutely amazing; I’m a fan now. I want more stuff related to that franchise, and what a better way for that than an awesome fighting game? The franchise is really over the top and creative with its character designs and battles. The perfect formula for an awesome fighting game. JOOOOOOOOOOOJO!

Dark Souls 2 – Call me a masochist but I can’t wait to return to the world of Dark Souls. Less a spiritual sequel (like the first was to Demon’s Souls) and more of a direct continuation, it’s clear from the beta and gameplay videos that DSII is aiming for a more balanced, more tight and more cohesive version of the first, yet with many throwbacks to Demon’s Souls (from first glance the UI is far more similar aesthetically to Demon’s).

From claims of a completely new combat system that lets players tackle the infamously hard gameplay with any form of build, I look forward to entering the world of Dark Souls 2 multiple times, be that with a dual-wielding thief, a tank build or a sorcerer. I have complete faith that DS2 will live up to the hype, and I am prepared to die over and over and have an absolute blast doing it.

Dying Light – I love a good zombie killer fest and a good RPG. I was a fan of mirrors edge and the combat looks seamless and exciting. With the mixture of parkour, combat and tactical progression it looks like an exciting and unparalleled experience.

This is what next gen means to me. A brand new IP bringing something new to the table. It looks good and has a very strong beta. I think it will be a critically acclaimed game for 2014

Elder Scrolls Online – This game has been in development too long for it NOT to be the most anticipated game of 2014. ESO takes place 1000 years before Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim with most of the content of Tamriel unlocked upon release as they plan for future expansions.

There’s 3 factions to choose from and players can decide which side of the war they want to fight on while still able to talk to friends who may have went a separate path on character creation.
It’s going to look, sound and feel brilliant to play, especially with my brand new graphics card. But what would an Elder Scrolls game be without an exquisite exploration element, this definitely has me most excited. Leveling up a character in WoW was breathtaking enough back in the day and if that’s anything to go by this will be pure brilliance. All this with the social aspect of an MMO tying that oh so familiar feel of an Elder Scrolls game.

Flip side of this coin; There has been ALOT of backlash in regards to the game itself being an absolute disaster and has the potential to flop as it’s trying to hook into a subscriber based market with a 60$ box fee and a 15$ per monthly subscription. We’ll see where this goes, I will still play it on release regardless and I’m looking forward to sinking many hours into finding my way around Tamriel and slaying bosses with friends.

Destiny – I was immediately excited when I found out Bungie were going to be stepping away from the Halo franchise and moving toward a whole new universe. I must’ve watched that E3 playthrough a million times and shown everyone I know as well. It looks amazing, even if it’s still in the early stages of production still. A huge FPS world with RPG and MMO elements thrown in, with player and weapon customization and skill trees, and the multitude of guns you can use. Excited is an understatement for this game.

InFamous: Second Son – I am a HUGE fan of the two previous InFamous games that graced the PS3, having completed them over and over and even investing the time to collect almost every trophy. The idea of possessing superpowers has always been a desire of mine, so one could imagine my excitement when InFamous: Second Son was announced at the PS4 reveal just under a year ago.

With a solid story and great gameplay from the predecessors of the series I think it is a certainty that with the power of the PS4 InFamous: Second Son will be an amazing game. Sucker Punch have already revealed to the world two powers and teased that these are “only the tip of the iceberg” but how these powers interact with the inspired Seattle the developers have created proves to be truly “next gen”.

Protagonist Delsin Rowe, will be portrayed by Troy Baker who has been a rising star of success during a stellar year in 2013 and I cannot wait to see how he handles the undoubtedly dual karmatic influenced story that InFamous is renown for. From what I have seen and heard InFamous just looks next gen, from its sharply detailed open world that runs without hiccup or flaw combined with a mixture of powers and a Seattle based parkour system. I simply cannot wait to get my hands on this game and fully engorge myself in the powers and city available to me in InFamous: Second Son.

Dragon Age: Inquisition – This is a really hard decision for me, and we still don’t know what else is coming this year. As much as I want to say Infamous: Second Son or Bayonetta 2, Dragon Age: Origins is a very important game to me. I liked Dragon Age 2, but it didn’t really feel like a worthy sequel. Not much of Inquisition has been shown, outside of a 30 minute gameplay video captured by a fan. In those 30 minutes, in all the interviews, this game seems to be a worthy successor to origins. Extremely large areas to explore, the promise of choices with real consequences, the combat seems to mix tactics and action a lot better then DA2, Management of the inquisition, and the game is absolutely beautiful, and vibrant taking advantage of Next Gen hardware.

All that being said, I really hope that it lives up to all the potential it has. Something that is always a concern for me, is the PC port of these games. I love Dragon Age, to me it is a series best on PC. With the ever existing lure of bigger sales on consoles, I really hope they treat PC gamers with the same respect they did with DAO.

Super Smash Bros – I’m really excited for all the next-gen games but i’m genuinely intrigued to see what the new Super Smash Brothers throws out. This entry marks the first release on a portable Nintendo console and i’m excited to see how this amazing team ingrates the Wii U version with the 3DS version. It’s obviously that they have two completely different art styles which I completely appreciate.

There is still a lot of character and stage announcements left so i’m excited to see what is announced over the next few months. Brawl was a bit underwhelming to most people so it’ll be interesting to see if the fighting mechanics are improved in the new Smash Brothers. tho

Founder and Managing Editor of PressStart. My first console was the NES and I grew a major love for gaming in the PS1 days, playing games such as Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, Ape Escape and Medievil.